Prose Challenge of the Month #1: Write about losing your innocence. Fifteen entries will be featured in a Prose Original Book of the Month, whereby each winner will take 5% lifetime royalties. You must purchase the book to discover its authors, who will be determined by objective data (reads, likes, reposts, comments) and by team vote to ensure reader satisfaction. When sharing to social media, please use the hashtags “itslit,” “getlit,” and “ProseChallenge.”

dLYNX

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Loss of Innocence

Dying Innocence

I'm frantically looking

but can't seem to find

That child within me,

she just wants to hide

Horrors and fears and

monsters and tears

It's really no wonder

she rarely appears

It's a not - so - fun game

of sick hide - n - seek

When I do find her

she seems more and more weak

I know she is dying,

I feel it at core

I've tried so many cures,

even tried the sea shore

I miss her laughter,

her fresh look at life

I miss her sparkle

before the cruel knife

She is my favorite

version of me

The one that is dying

every day endlessly

I do all that I can

to stave off her death

After all, she is a child

so precious her breath

It started so early,

doomed right from birth

When cancerous voices told

how little her worth

She has lived through the pain

of an abusive mom

She has fought through depression

that lasts all year long

Her hopeful eyes have

stayed open wide

When men who have claimed love

have shown their dark side

Rejection and failure,

she's familiar with that

The other day in her arms

lay her dying cat

I try every day to see

life through her eyes

That those eyes are closing

is not a surprise

She has fought hard,

valiant, and strong

She shouldn't have to die,

it just feels so wrong

But that is the nature

of her precious breed

Innocence dies no matter

how strong the seed.

.....

This second poem was posted here not long ago...

.....

Innocent

I am innocent

I'm only two

I can't even tie my shoe

I've been beaten black and blue

But I am innocent at only two

I am innocent

I just turned five

I'm really lucky to be alive

Very familiar with the knives

But I am innocent at barely five

I am innocent

I am eight

I learned how to masturbate

The boy next door

So he'd open the door

I am innocent at only eight

I am innocent

I'm just eleven

I can take my uncle to heaven

He's been teaching me since I was seven

I am innocent at just eleven

I am innocent

I am sixteen

I want to be a beauty queen

I always vomit my meals in between

I am innocent at sixteen

I am innocent

I'm twenty three

Hooked on meth and can't break free

Into the future I no longer see

I am innocent at twenty three

I am not innocent

Not anymore

I've never felt any love before

Everyone opens then slams the door

I am not innocent anymore

(The second poem, Innocent, is one I have previously posted, so I hope it's okay that I used it for this challenge. It fit so well. It was a bit hard to reach the 500 word minimum, I must admit, which was making me crazy because I had just written that poem not long ago! So, hoping it doesn't disqualify me..)